President Fox takes flak over projected enhancement of the capital’s airport

Mexican president Vicente Fox has come under fire after unveiling a plan to expand Mexico City’s airport. His critics claim a new terminal should be built, instead.

The new airport could ease air traffic that grew twofold over the last decade as far as passengers are concerned, and three times in terms of cargo handling, the President said.

“Amid the ongoing demand expansion, there’s a need to enhance and streamline the airport infrastructure in order to raise the country’s competitiveness and its opportunities of luring new investments,” Mr. Fox pointed out.

The Mexican President underlined the plan will prevent the airport’s potential collapse and will make it suitable to handle both passengers and cargo for another 25 to 30 years.

However, he said his government does not rule out the possibility of building a spanking-new terminal in the outskirts of the city after the former Texcoco project was dropped in the face of strong opposition staged by machete-blandishing local peasants.

The project, with an investment package of $270 million taken from public and private funds, will also include airport modernization in the neighboring states of Mexico (Toluca), Puebla and Queretaro with a view to back up and complement international services.

President Fox explained refurbishment works of the capital’s airport will get underway in 2004 and must be concluded by 2005. The whole project will create 500 new jobs, plus thousands of part-time jobs.

Airport improvements in the Mexican Valley’s airport infrastructure will take up passenger handling from 20 million to a walloping 58 million trippers every year.